Welcome to Trimester 3

This week begins the third and last trimester of the 2010-2011 school year. There will be some changes coming as the school continues its move towards Performance Based Education. I will inform you all as soon as I have definite information.

History v. Hollywood
Monday: Course Expectations,Movie Permission Form, Classroom Tour, Student Inventory. Students should consider a recent article from a psychology journal regarding the use of movies in history education.

Tuesday: We will begin with a concept map on Pocahontas. We will do a guided reading in class from two sources (The Pageant of World History and The Complete Book of United States History.

Wednesday: We will consider a primary source from Capt. John Smith and also a biography of the man.

Thursday: Students will examine a National Geographic article regarding archaeological findings at the Jamestown colony site.

Friday: As a group, we will develop the research scoring rubric and will also set research goals for the first movie. We will then utilize any remaining time to focus on individual research.

World History (Full week, each class will meet 4 times)

Meeting 1: Students will begin working on the Explorer Facebook Summative Assessment. Students will receive the rubric and will code their data. For homework, students are asked to draft their posters and collect any needed materials.

Meeting 2: Students will be assembling/finalizing their Explorer Facebook profiles. There will be an opportunity for peer editing and for conferencing with me. If not completed in this timeframe, students will be expected to complete it outside of class. The Facebook profile will need to be submitted by Friday.

Meeting 3: Students will begin Unit VII: Revolutions! We will begin by reviewing the MLRs and the unit expectations. We will then have a guided reading of a primary source ("A Day in the Life of the Sun King") as we discuss Absolutism.

Meeting 4: Students will take direct instruction regarding the start of the Enlightenment. In class we will listen to the "Dies Irae" of Mozart's Requiem and discuss its meaning and artistic message. We will do a dipsticking activity that will gauge student success in attaining the big concepts.